1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to communication network and website searching and navigation and, in particular, to systems, program product, and methods of electronic communication networks guided navigation to provide users with enhanced search presentation tools during online activities.
2. Description of Related Art
As electronic interconnectivity between individuals and entities has been enhanced over the years, hundreds of millions of users each year, for example, search for information and purchase merchandise online through electronic communication networks (e.g., via the World Wide Web (the “Web”)). As features of Web exploration and search have been enhanced, more and more specialized Web browsers and user tool bars for searching on the Web have expanded significantly, including the development of fairly sophisticated search engines by numerous search engine providers. By the use of these more specialized Web browsers, user tool bars, and search engines, for example, online or Web based shopping has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Not only are consumers or other users searching for and purchasing new items from online retailers, but consumers are also purchasing items, sometimes previously owned by others, through online marketplaces, e.g., auction sites. Further, even using the Web for finding helpful information to consumers such as online dictionaries, encyclopedias, information on stores, information on products, news, sports and weather information, and numerous other applications have exploded.
By use of the Web, for example, purchasers are not the only ones that have benefited from online marketplaces. Sellers no longer have to resort to retail store floor space, or local newspaper ads, or garage sales to sell their products, all of which takes time, real estate space, and only allow sellers to market their products to local buyers. For a small amount of time and money, on the other hand, sellers on the Web can have worldwide access to potential purchasers for their items. Many people also supplement their income by selling items, such as clothing and toys that their children have outgrown, through online marketplaces. For example, instead of giving the clothing and toys away, sellers can resell the items and recoup at least a portion of the original purchase price.
The online or Web based companies, marketplaces, and information sources, in turn, have become extremely successful propositions for large to small companies of various types of goods and services, and even for individuals. Nevertheless, the result has been more and more data, such as product information, being accessible and searchable by Web search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and others. In turn, speed has slowed user friendliness and search results have become more complex, and the quantity of data search results can be overwhelming, all discouraging use of the Web, including online shopping. For example, when too many choices return to a user from a Web search using a conventional search engine, e.g., when a user makes a relatively broad search request and a relatively large number of broad match search terms are returned to the user, a user often understands that much of these results are not relevant to the user's needs. The only way that a user can reduce the number of results is by retyping the query, adding additional terms to the query, or by selecting an advanced search, which also can be viewed as appending an earlier query. Further, once a user selects a specific product to view the product in more detail, the conventional proprietary web sites can present users a list of other products and other proprietary sites users that have bought the specific selected product have also purchased.
Although most current search engines associated with marketplace websites have some usefulness, their shortcomings collectively represent impediments to the user readily accessing data relevant to a search request, quickly locating product or other information, effectively using information to be located, and the conduct of e-commerce, for example, which are addressed and overcome by various embodiments of the present invention.
Recognized by inventors, therefore, is the need for a system, program product, and methods which assist the user in narrowing of the search results in a more efficient guided search.